Once again we’re asking you to let us know what you enjoyed (and what you didn’t) during 2008. To be eligible the story or artwork must have been published in Interzones 214 to 219 inclusive. Eligible stories and artworks below. As always, we’re as keen to hear your opinions of the magazine as we are to get your votes, so don’t be shy in letting us know what you think – and we may publish the most interesting comments.

As usual with the Interzone poll you can vote both positively for the stories you like and negatively for those you didn't and we'll rank the final choice according to the aggregate score. And you can vote for as many or as few stories as you like.

The results will be published in Interzone issue 222, so please make sure your votes are in before 31 March.

And that's why they have the negative vote thing, I suppose. Sometimes you get stories that some people love and others hate, and the ability to give negative votes gives a balanced view of what the readership in general felt about such a story.

Personally, if I find a story unsatisfying I tend to forget it rather quickly. It's only the good ones that I remember.

Yes: most poor or bad stories make me shrug indifferently, it's only the ones that make my hackles rise that stick - so, in a way its a tribute - at least it shows they're memorable!

I did make a suggestion a couple of years ago that the negative votes only count in the case of a tie: then the stories that people either love or hate aren't averaged out into a mid-table position. However, in response Interzone did show a list of the favourite stories without the negative votes counted, and there was very little difference to the list with them included: one story moved up about 5 places (but it still stayed in the bottom half), otherwise a few swopped places: nothing dramatic!

Positive votes for stories:
The Corner of the Circle by Tim Lees
IF by Daniel Akselrod and Lenny Royter (Crowd pleaser is not a dirty category.)
Far Horizon by Jason Stoddard (This has enough material to build a novel.)
The Trace of Him by Christopher Priest
Remote Control by R.R. Angell (Unfairly advantaged by my wholehearted agreement with the author's politics.)

I found The Shenu fairly inoffensive and a huge step forward from the author's previous Interzone story so I'm a little surprised about the vehement dislike. Can anyone put their finger on what exactly turned them off?

Negative votes have been steadily becoming more rare since I started doing this poll (four(!?) years ago) but I've always thought that the most interesting stories tend to get the biggest mix of negative and positive votes...

Stories I particularly enjoyed: When Thorns Are the Tips of Trees, Everything That Matters, The Fifth Zhi, Poppyfields, His Master's Voice, Africa, Endra - From Memory, Remote Control, Crystal Nights, The Scent of Their Arrival. I don't recall reading any stinkers, so I'm not going to cast any negative votes. "Thorns" was my fave story, #218 my fave cover.

Comus Of Central Park, by MK Hobson
Concession Girl, by Suzanne Palmer
Corner Of The Circle, by Tim Lees
Dragonfly Summer, by Patrick Samphire
Endra - From Memory, by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Everything That Matters, by Jeff Spock
The Fifth Zhi, by Mercurio D Riviera
His Masters Voice, by Hannu Rajaniemi
IF, by Daniel Akselrod & Lenny Royter
Poppyfields, by Chris Beckett
Remote Control, by RR Angell
The Scent Of Their Arrival, by Mercurio D Riviera
The Ships Like Clouds..., by Jason Sanford
When Thorns Are The Tips of Trees, by Jason Sanford

Negative votes for

The Hour Is Getting Late, by Billie Aul
Rat Island, by Chris Beckett

Best cover was 218 - Greenland

a good year overall - I don't remember picking so many positive stories in previous years (and that was after a good deal of whittling) - especially for Messrs Sanford and Riviera

Negative votes have been steadily becoming more rare since I started doing this poll (four(!?) years ago) but I've always thought that the most interesting stories tend to get the biggest mix of negative and positive votes...

That time of year again? Need to catch up with my reading. After a quick scan of the list I'll try to save the negatives for the ones I really loathed (at least 3) rather than a high meh factor...

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